One-of-a-Kind Ceramic Tableware, Perfect for Summer Gifting

If you’re still contemplating what to gift your summer hostess, “say it with ceramics,” suggests Amanda Shine. Shine left the fashion world (after spending time at Gucci, Free People, and Everlane) to launch a new customizable ceramics concept, The Setting. In a charming studio-meets-gallery-space in SoHo, Shine personalizes her own hand-thrown bowls, mugs, trays, and serving pieces with phrases and motifs to suit any occasion, from birthdays to baby showers. “When we think about gifting, one of the things we’re really looking at are ways to personalize the shipping experience,” says Shine. At The Setting, a freshly made vase can be paired with a simple flower arrangement, a small cup potted with a plant, or a bowl accompanied by a smudge stick of sage or Palo Santo. “You’re not only receiving the product, but it’s an immediate experience,” she says.

And experiences are central to Shine’s brand. “If you don’t have a brick and mortar store—and even if you do—you can’t always convert a customer through social media. You need to interact with them.” Which is why Shine has decided to make The Setting’s sun-filled studio space an oasis from the busy SoHo streets below, available for events. “We’re hosting a few breakfasts coming up and everything will be served on pieces from The Setting,” says Shine. “Sometimes ceramics can feel really precious, and I want to make my work feel like it’s for use.”

Her own home, located a few blocks away from the studio, acts as a testing ground for her own ever-evolving collection of bowls, mugs, and serving pieces. “I try to use my pieces when my friends are over to see how they interpret them,” says Shine, whose first encounter with ceramics was on her middle-school pottery wheel in Southampton, New York. “I love to see someone pick up a sailor mug and drop an ice cube in it to use it as a tumbler and then see the same mug on someone’s desk with a plant in it.”

When she’s not at the pottery wheel, Shine spends time in the kitchen cooking and baking. Ahead of the holiday season, she has plans to expand The Setting’s gifting capabilities to include baked goods and beauty along with her ceramics. As she says, “It’s not just the setting of the table, it’s the setting of your day.”